Hurtful Truth
by The Emcee
Summary: Cody just wanted to grab his stuff, his boyfriend, and go back to the hotel. However, he stumbles upon a scene that makes his blood boil and he's going to fix it. Cody Rhodes/Evan Bourne


A/N: I wrote this because I'm delusional and I have a tendency to lie to myself about situations. This is based purely on my own thoughts and imagination. R&R. Enjoy!

**Hurtful Truth**

Cody walked back to the locker room after Raw had ended, hell bent on getting his stuff, his boyfriend, and returning to their hotel room. He didn't have a match that night, which he was grateful for because he really hadn't been up to wrestling. For some reason, he had been in a bad mood all day. Well, not bad per se, but more on the lines of bitchy and argumentative. Had he been a woman, he probably would've been PMSing. Mentally shrugging to himself, he opened the door to the locker room, more than ready to get dressed, grabbing Evan, and going when he stopped. The sight before him shocked him at first, and then rage, pure, white rage, filled him.

Standing before him was Ron Killings with one of his hands wrapped around Evan's throat. Evan himself appeared to have been slammed against the lockers and he was lifted slightly off of the ground. It was obvious from his facial expression that he was frightened and having trouble breathing. The sight pissed Cody off, but the words, harsh, threatening, and cruel that were coming out of Ron's mouth were angering him even more.

"I don't care if you're buddy buddy with Jericho and Cena. Don'tchu ever, ever, tell them about what you saw again, got it? Or I will beat you black and fucking green, you little piss ant! You're nothing, ya dig? Nothing! And you never will be." Slamming the locker room door shut behind him, Cody march over towards them and, before Ron could even speak, he grabbed the black man and kicked him. Hard. In his nether regions.

"Cody-!"

Cody didn't want to hear whatever bullshit that was about to come out of Ron's mouth. Without a moment's hesitation, he let loose on the older man. He punched him, kicked him, and slammed his head down on the floor with such force and fury that, had he been a spectator, he probably wouldn't have recognized himself. Never before had he ever been so angry. No one threatened his Evan and got away with it. Evan was his entire world and the smaller man had been going through a lot of shit the past few months, what with being suspended and whatnot. And now, this. As if he needed the added stress. The high flyer had barely been getting enough sleep as it was; thanks to Ron, he probably wouldn't be sleep at all now.

"Cody! Cody, stop! Please!"

Cody barely noticed the hands grabbing and groping at him, trying to tear him away from the man who had threatened his everything. It was until he was actually being pulled away that he realized that the three of them were no longer alone in the locker room. Panting and heaving, he glared at the people who had interrupted him. John and Stephen had been the ones who had grabbed him and they still had hold of him. Wade, Mike, Zack, Dolph, Jack, Phil, Alex, Santino, and Kofi were looking from him to Ron, all with questioning, confused looks on their faces. But the only person Cody cared about was Evan, who was standing beside Kofi, his eyes shining brightly with tears that had yet to fall. The worried expression on his face automatically made Cody regret what he had done. Not because of Ron's pain or anything like that, but because he had worried Evan.

"Cody, what the hell, fella? It's no' like you ter be beatin' on people like tha'."

"I understand your frustration, Cody, but now is not the time and place. Especially not tonight. Laurinaitis is already half considering suspending a few of us just for the hell of it-"

"Not 'just for the hell of it', John, but because he's a jealous asshole who doesn't like pure talent." Phil interrupted John, but the older man ignored it and continued.

"-and we don't want you to get in trouble as well. So just…calm down, okay man?"

Cody nodded and John patted his back before he and Stephen let go. Still panting, but starting to calm down, Cody gazed down at Ron as he groaned and tried to move. Turning around, his eyes met Evan's and, before he could say anything to his beloved, he had his arms full of the smaller man. Evan was shaking, but he wasn't crying. Not yet, anyway, and Cody held onto him, holding him tight, and sighed softly.

"I…I'm sorry, Evan. I just… When I came in and saw him…I lost control and…" Evan shook his head and hugged him tighter.

"It's okay. I'm just glad that you're not hurt…or worse."

The others started to change and leave. Cody pulled away and he guided Evan to their bench. Handing his boyfriend his bag so that he could change, Cody looked back at Ron and saw that he was starting to get up. Sending the man a death glare, he turned back around, grabbed his own bag and started to change out of his ring gear. Before his fingers even touched his trunks, Ron was up in his face, his eyes bugging out and tinted with anger and insanity.

"What da hell, you son of a –" Before Ron could continue, John had shoved him away from Cody and Evan and had wedged himself between them. He looked at Cody, giving him a silent warning, before his blue eyes turned to Ron.

"Look, everyone in here knows that you've been starting shit with Evan. Now, you have two choices: tell Laurinaitis about this, which might get both Evan and Cody fired, or shut the hell up and walk away." Ron glared at him, but Cena didn't back down. He remained where he was, standing as strong as a stone wall, and gazed at the older man with a cool expression.

"What da hell makes you think I'm gonna shut up and walk away as though nothin' happened, huh?" John's voice didn't rise and his expression didn't falter or change. He spoke in a matter-of-fact tone and Cody was glad that he was one of Evan's closest friends. Having Cena pissed off at you was never a good thing, even before Laurinaitis stuck his big, fat nose into their business.

"Because if you don't, you're going to get hurt. And this time, you won't be able to get back up so easily." Ron laughed him, but his eyes betrayed his feelings. He was scared of John and he had every reason to be. Even so, he put up a brave front and continued to mouth back at John.

"Oh yeah? You and what army?" John didn't have to reply. As soon as the words were out of Ron's mouth, Stephen, Zack, Wade, Mike, and Phil crowded around him, all of them looking tired, worn out, and agitated. Ron's eyes flickered over all of them and, although his voice was mocking, it trembled. He knew, just like Cody knew, that if didn't do as John said that his beating would be severe and beyond painful.

"Please. You all jus' wanna start shit. Wade, since when did you give a shit about helping John out? Oh, dat's right! He's still sucking your cock, isn't he? And Mike, I thought we was all good and shit. Don't go hatin' over this storyline, now." Wade's green eyes narrowed at Ron, but it was Mike who responded.

"It's not the storyline, Ron. It's you. You know damn well that you should have been suspended just like Evan was, but because you're a kiss ass like Laurinaitis, you weren't. We all know happened between the two of you and you need to let it go. Evan's being punished enough as it is."

"Since when do you care about that midget?" Cody growled, but he stopped advancing when he felt Evan reach out and grab his hand. Looking down at his boyfriend, Cody's eyes softened and he sat back down on the bench, pressing a soft kiss to Evan's forehead.

"He's not a midget, you warthog faced buffoon. He's the future of this company and he's being given shit just like me all thanks to you and your sucking up to Laurinaitis. Now get the hell out of the locker room before I beat you like the dog that you are." Ron glared at Phil but he didn't say anything else. He just grabbed his stuff and left. When he was gone, everyone returned to getting ready.

Cody took his trunks off and straightened out his boxers before he put his jeans on. As he and Evan continued to get ready to leave, the other wrestlers started filing out of the locker room, having already changed and gathered their belongings up. One of the last ones to leave were John and Wade, and before they left, John stopped and sat down beside Evan. With watchful eyes, Cody observed them, glad that John was taking time to talk to Evan. Being a big name, John was, naturally, a busy man, but he always made time for his friends and loved ones.

"As soon as you can, call me and tell me what happened, okay? I doubt we can fix this, but I'm sure we can figure something out, okay?" The words confused Cody and he watched as Evan nodded and gave John a brief half smile. After John and Wade left the locker room, Cody put on his shirt and sat down beside his boyfriend.

"Did something happen, Evy?" Evan looked at him, his eyes filled with sadness, regret, and shame. Cody hated seeing those emotions in those doe brown eyes and he put his hand on Evan's cheek, caressing it gently.

"I…I got suspended…"

"Again?" Evan nodded, closed his eyes for a brief second, and opened them, allowing the tears he had been holding back fall.

"What happened, baby?" Cody pulled Evan into his arms and kissed his neck. The smaller man's arms wrapped around him and Cody could feel his boyfriend shaking.

"I… Remember when I was first suspended?" Cody nodded, his hold on his boyfriend tightening.

"Yeah, I do." Evan had been given some pot by Ron and he hadn't realized that the company was planning on giving them a drug test the following day. Naturally, he failed it and Evan had never been so embarrassed and ashamed of himself.

"Well…that night, I saw Ron doing something that definitely wasn't pot. When I asked him about it, he said that it was crack. So, I went and told John because, well, pot's one thing, but crack's another and he told me to report it. And I did and…and he found out… Laurinaitis gave him my name and, well, I was suspended. He wasn't."

Cody sighed heavily as he rubbed his boyfriend's back. He understood why Evan did what he did, and it was more than likely that Evan was scared and unsure of what to do. Crack was in a different category than pot was, and while the legal stuff was tolerated, nothing else was. If McMahon or anyone had been given an anonymous tip, then Ron would have been suspended. However, Evan had informed them and since he wasn't a big shot like John or Randy, he wasn't as liked or respected. Suspending him was an easy maneuver, especially if Laurinaitis pulled some strings.

"It's okay, baby. Like John said, we'll all figure something out. This isn't right. Ron should have been suspended too." Cody pulled away from Evan and kissed him softly on the lips. He smiled when he felt Evan sigh into the kiss and responded eagerly.

"You really think we can do anything about this?" Evan looked at him with eyes filled with doubt and hope, but he wasn't going to lie.

"I have no idea, Evy, but we'll try. That's all we can do, right?" Cody smiled and kissed him again which made Evan smile. It wasn't his usual smile, but it was a start.

"Right. We'll try our best. As long as you're with me, I'll try my best."

"Good." They kissed once more before Cody stood up.

"Ready to go?" Evan nodded and grabbed his things. Grabbing his hand, Cody walked them out of the locker room, their bags in hand, and left the arena.

"How about we go to Chili's or something, Evy? I feel like having some chips and salsa." Cody grinned at his boyfriend, who gave him another smile. He was happy to see Evan's eyes light up even more.

"I like that idea, Cody. You always know how to make me feel better."

"I try, baby. I try."


End file.
